NAMM 2024: You’ll likely be familiar with Audient via its range of excellent budget and mid-level audio interfaces, but let’s not forget that the company began life as a manufacturer of high-end studio gear, and it’s this market that it appears to be targeting with its new Oria immersive audio interface and monitor controller.
Designed for use with multi-speaker arrays - everything from stereo setups to 9.1.6 setups - Oria isn’t an interface that’s likely to entice the project studio owner, but if you have a larger-scale facility there could be plenty here to grab your attention. As well as being a USB-C audio interface with 16 outputs, it can also integrate into your existing studio setup as a standalone monitor controller via its ADAT Inputs or the Optional Dante Card.
Room calibration is another notable feature; Audient has partnered with Sonarworks to offer support for the latter company’s SoundID Reference profiles. This means that, in theory, you can measure and calibrate your room in under an hour, a task that’s made simple thanks to the inclusion of a Sonarworks Reference Measurement microphone and a 60-day free trial of the SoundID Reference for Multichannel software.
Once the calibration is complete, you can take charge of your stereo, surround or Dolby Atmos setup via the dedicated desktop software and remotely on an iPad. Integration with the Dolby Atmos Renderer is also on the way.
“As immersive audio continues to become more prevalent across music, film, TV, game and VR production, our goal was to design a purpose-driven and affordable solution for those wanting to work in the immersive space,” says Audient’s Andrew Allen.
“Oria is designed to prioritise immersive audio workflows, giving you onboard room and speaker calibration DSP, true immersive monitoring control and professional audio performance, alongside intelligent integrations with Sonarworks and Dolby Atmos.”
Oria will begin shipping in the first quarter of 2024 priced at $2,625/£2,520/€2,885. The optional Dante card will cost $625/£600/$625.
Find out more on the Audient website.
